Wednesday, August 27, 2008

If you were headed into surgery, you certainly wouldn't want to find out that an attorney was about to cut you open. The attorney should be practicing in a courtroom, and the surgeon should be doing the cutting.

We have a politician, billing herself as an "ardent, practicing Catholic" who is continuing to try to isolate a single quote from St. Augustine to justify her position on abortion, clearly contrary to Church teaching. And, it appears that she is continuing to do so AFTER public corrections by members of the Church responsible for teaching: The Bishops.

Now, the question is, will they - the bishops, start to take action, beginning in her own diocese and parish? Many have been wondering why Archbishop Nierdauer has been silent. The Archdiocese of San Francisco's website does have a link to the USCCB statement above, which is good. With San Francisco being Pelosi's home diocese, Archbishop Nierdauer has a greater burden. Will he, or her pastor, deny her Holy Communion now that she has shown significant obstinance in leading others into scandal in such a public manner? Hold that thought...

What I found even more incredible was a comment she made about politicians who have received personal admonitions from their bishops to not present themselves for Holy Communion. Ms Pelosi says:

“I think some of it is regional,” said Pelosi, whose district encompasses San Francisco, in a recent interview with C-SPAN. “It depends on the bishop of a certain region and, fortunately for me, Communion has not been withheld and I’m a regular Communicant, so that would be a severe blow to me if that were the case.”

Right. I'm sure a few copies of this have been sent to Archbishop Nierdauer. In all seriousness folks, pray for this bishop and for Ms. Pelosi. Pray for all of our bishops because we need them to have the grace of courage in the face of these things. In China a bishop was just imprisoned for the faith as the Olympics closed. Here, the only thing they risk losing is being seen as the "nice guy" (but perhaps they don't necessarily see the faithful who will stand behind them in prayerful support).

There is a column just released by the Archdiocese of San Francisco's Newspaper which denounces her errancy, then suggests that the Archbishop will discuss the matter in his column on September 5th. You might wonder why the delay, especially since so many bishops ripped out a statement so quickly. One thought is that perhaps he needs time to meet with her. She has given him ample reason to call for a one-on-one meeting. I think the statement in that diocesan newspaper is a good indication that status quo is not going to go in this case.

“The Speaker is the mother of five children and seven grandchildren and fully appreciates the sanctity of family. She was raised in a devout Catholic family who often disagreed with her pro-choice views [smart people and hopefully they continue to pray for her. Perhaps she should be enrolled into the St. Monica sodality so that she begins to practice for real instead of pretending to practice the faith. And, why not ask the mother of St. Augustine to intercede, on this her feast day?].

“After she was elected to Congress, and the choice issue became more public as she would have to vote on it, she studied the matter more closely [to see which way she could get more votes in California].Her views on when life begins were informed by the views of Saint Augustine, who said: ‘…the law does not provide that the act [abortion] pertains to homicide, for there cannot yet be said to be a live soul in a body that lacks sensation…’ (Saint Augustine, On Exodus 21.22)[Remember the lawyer and the doctor? Let's see - who is a better judge of Augustine's writings - in full context....a politician trying to justify her errant view, or a Church with 2000 years of constant and consistent teaching. The "controversy" is not with the Church, it's contrived by people who can't handle the truth!!!]

“While Catholic teaching is clear that life begins at conception, many Catholics do not ascribe to that view. [so, if 30 people waiting at a red light say that it is green, does it mean that they can "go"?] The Speaker agrees with the Church that we should reduce [?!?!?]the number of abortions. She believes that can be done by making family planning more available [heh, how many abortions happen in the context of a family, as opposed to beinga cover-up for violating the 6th and 9th Commandments] , as well as by increasing the number of comprehensive age-appropriate sex education and caring adoption programs.

“The Speaker has a long, proud record of [culture of death] working with [and, against] the Catholic Church on many issues, including alleviating poverty and promoting social justice and peace.” [except when it comes to the unborn, whom she doesn't consider people at all.]

I've already heard people say that the Church is sticking it's nose into politics. Really? Why did Nancy Pelosi speak as an "ardent, practicing Catholic"?

Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron

St. John of the Cross

Dark Night of the Soul (2.2:3)...

"...the devil causes many to believe in vain visionsand false prophecies; and strives to make them presumethat God and the saints are speaking with them; and they often trust their own fancy. And the devil is also accustomed, in this state, to fill them with presumption and pride, so that they become attracted by vanity and arrogance, and allow themselves to be seen engaging in outward acts which appear holy, such as raptures and other manifestations. Thus they become bold with God, and lose holy fear, which is the key and the custodian of all the virtues; and in some of these souls so many are the falsehoods and deceits which tend to multiply, and so inveterate do they grow, that it is very doubtful if such souls will return to the pure road of virtue and true spirituality."